13 February 2017

Ford China auto sales drive growth in 2017

CBI member Ford and its joint ventures in China sold more than 88,000 vehicles in January with the Edge SUV and Mustang recording all-time record months. Total sales for Ford, including JVs Changan Ford Automobile and Jiangling Motor Corporation, were down 32 percent versus January 2016. The overall results were adversely affected by two factors:

Many Chinese buyers pulled ahead the purchase of vehicles late last year to take advantage of a tax break on vehicles with smaller displacement engines, which was halved on Jan. 1.

January had five fewer selling days this year versus last year due to the timing of the Chinese New Year.

“January was an unusual month with the earlier timing of the Chinese New Year holiday and the impact of the reduced tax incentive” said Peter Fleet, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service. “Sales of vehicles not affected by the tax incentive were strong. In fact, the Edge, Explorer and Mustang all saw an increase over a year ago despite the fewer selling days. So the underlying market conditions and customer demand for our exciting new products remains strong.”